Papers

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Article Tier 2

Vertical transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in natural soils under unsaturated conditions: influence of particle size and texture

Laboratory experiments showed that polystyrene nanoplastics can travel downward through unsaturated soils, but larger particles and clay-rich soils retain them more effectively than smaller particles in sandy soils. Understanding how nanoplastics move through soil is important for predicting whether they will reach groundwater and contaminate drinking water sources.

2026 Environmental Science Nano
Article Tier 2

Transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in natural soils: Effect of soil properties, ionic strength and cation type

Researchers used column experiments across three soil types to show that polystyrene nanoplastic transport is governed by soil iron and aluminum oxide content and pH — with high-pH, low-oxide soils allowing up to 97% nanoplastic passage — and that calcium ions and higher ionic strength significantly increase retention, revealing that soil chemistry strongly controls nanoplastic mobility toward groundwater.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 290 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating transport kinetics of polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated porous media

Researchers investigated how ionic strength, pH, and organic matter influence the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through saturated porous media using column experiments and DLVO modeling, finding that increasing sodium ion concentrations promote nanoplastic aggregation and reduce mobility in soil and groundwater systems.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of particle size on the transport of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastic particles through quartz sand under unsaturated conditions

This study tested how different sizes of polystyrene micro and nanoplastics move through sand under conditions similar to soil with some moisture. Smaller particles (120 nanometers) passed through easily with 95% recovery, while larger particles (10,000 nanometers) were completely trapped. The findings suggest that the tiniest nanoplastics can readily travel through soil to reach groundwater, creating a potential pathway for plastic contamination of drinking water sources.

2024 Environmental Pollution 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism of coupled phosphate‑calcium modulation of nanoplastic transport in porous media: Role of solution chemistry and surface interactions

Scientists used laboratory experiments and molecular simulations to study how phosphate and calcium ions in soil water affect whether polystyrene nanoplastics move freely through the ground or get trapped in soil particles. They found that pH was a key factor: at lower pH levels, phosphate helped nanoplastics travel farther while calcium restricted movement, with both effects linked to how these ions change the surface charge of both the particles and the soil. Understanding nanoplastic mobility in soil is essential for predicting contamination of groundwater and crops.

2025 Chemical Engineering Journal 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of pore water flow rate on microplastics transport in saturated porous media: Spatial distribution analysis

Researchers studied how water flow rate affects the transport and retention of polystyrene microplastics in saturated porous media using a two-dimensional flow cell. They found that higher flow rates reduced overall particle retention but created more clustered distribution patterns in the pore spaces. The study provides important insights into how microplastics migrate through soil and groundwater systems, which has implications for understanding subsurface contamination.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of functional group modified polystyrene nanoplastics in binary metal oxide saturated porous media

Researchers found that the surface functional groups of polystyrene nanoplastics significantly influenced their transport behavior through binary metal oxide porous media, with solution chemistry and the specific combination of metal oxides playing key roles in determining nanoplastic mobility in soil environments.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of physicochemical factors on transport and retention of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) in homogeneous and heterogeneous saturated porous media

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics move through different types of underground soil and sand formations. They found that smaller sand grains, higher salt concentrations, and the presence of calcium ions all increased microplastic retention, while mixed soil layers created preferential flow paths that allowed some particles to break through faster. The findings help explain how microplastics could potentially contaminate groundwater aquifers.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of input concentration, media particle size, and flow rate on fate of polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated porous media

Researchers systematically tested how input concentration, sand grain size, and flow rate control nanoplastic transport through saturated porous media, finding that nanoplastics are highly mobile under most conditions and — crucially — fragment into smaller sub-100 nm particles during long-term release, potentially increasing their environmental persistence and bioavailability.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of Microplastics Through Porous Media: Influence of Porosity and Pore-Water Velocity

Researchers investigated microplastic transport through porous media under varying porosity and pore-water velocity conditions relevant to groundwater systems. Higher pore-water velocities increased microplastic transport distance, while lower porosity soils retained more particles near the surface, providing experimental data to improve models predicting microplastic migration toward drinking water aquifers.

2025
Article Tier 2

Co-transport of polystyrene nanoplastics and soil colloids in saturated porous media: influence of pH and ionic strength

Researchers examined the co-transport of polystyrene nanoplastics and soil colloids in saturated porous media, finding that solution pH and ionic strength significantly influenced their combined transport behavior through mechanisms explained by DLVO theory and adsorption tests.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Article Tier 2

Microplastics/nanoplastics in porous media: Key factors controlling their transport and retention behaviors

This review examines what controls how microplastics and nanoplastics move through soil and other porous materials like sand and sediment. Factors like particle size, shape, surface charge, water flow speed, and the presence of other pollutants all influence whether plastics stay in place or travel deeper into groundwater. Understanding these transport behaviors is important for assessing the risk of microplastics contaminating underground drinking water sources.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced mobility and dynamic retention of nanoplastics in mineral coated porous media.

Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move through different types of soil and sand that might be found in groundwater systems. They discovered that these nanoplastics travel much farther and faster through soil than previously thought, especially when water flows quickly. This matters because it suggests that plastic pollution from things like food packaging and cosmetics could spread more widely through our drinking water sources than we realized.

2026
Article Tier 2

Influence mechanism of attapulgite on the migration of carboxylated polystyrene nanoplastics and the role of environmental factors

Researchers found that attapulgite clay mineral significantly influenced the migration of carboxylated polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated porous media, with humic acid and oxalic acid playing differential roles in either facilitating or retarding nanoplastic transport through soil-groundwater systems.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
Article Tier 2

Limited effects of different real groundwaters from three coastal cities in China on the transport of low-concentration nanoplastics in quartz sand

Researchers conducted column transport experiments with polystyrene and PLGA nanoplastics at low concentrations in real groundwaters from three Chinese coastal cities, finding that PS nanoplastics transported highly (average breakthrough plateau of 0.81) while PLGA transported poorly (0.19) due to shape- and size-induced straining, and that similar groundwater pH across sites produced comparable transport behaviours despite differing water chemistries.

2023 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of low-molecular-weight organic acids on the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics in saturated porous media

Researchers studied how low-molecular-weight organic acids (common in soil and groundwater) affect the movement of polystyrene nanoplastics through saturated porous media, finding that low concentrations promote transport while high concentrations increase particle deposition, with the effect scaling with the number of functional groups on the organic acid.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of clay minerals on the transport of nanoplastics through water-saturated porous media

Column experiments with clay-containing saturated porous media showed that clay minerals reduced nanoplastic transport by enhancing particle retention through bridging flocculation and charge neutralization, with kaolinite having greater retention effects than montmorillonite, informing predictions of nanoplastic mobility in clay-rich soils.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Low-Molecular-Weight Organic Acids on the Transport of Polystyrene Nanoplastics in Saturated Goethite-Coated Sand Columns

This study examined how low-molecular-weight organic acids — common root exudates in soil — affect the transport of polystyrene nanoplastics through porous media. Organic acids altered nanoplastic surface charge and aggregation state, significantly changing how far particles could migrate through soil.

2024 Water 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of clay minerals on the transport of polystyrene nanoplastic in groundwater

Researchers investigated how clay minerals affect nanoplastic transport in groundwater, finding that montmorillonite, kaolinite, and illite each uniquely influenced polystyrene nanoparticle mobility, with montmorillonite showing the strongest retention capacity due to its high surface charge.

2022 Water Research 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene fragments on the transport of Pb2+ in saturated porous media: The role of microplastics characteristics and flow velocity

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastic fragments affect the movement of lead through saturated porous media like soil and groundwater systems. They found that microplastics generally promoted lead mobility, with the effect increasing as particle size, dosage, and flow velocity increased. The enhanced lead transport was attributed to microplastics reducing the ability of surrounding media to absorb the metal and altering pore structure, raising concerns about co-contamination risks in groundwater.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport behavior of microplastics in soil‒water environments and its dependence on soil components

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics move through columns packed with different soil components and found that soil organic matter allowed the highest transport efficiency, with over 90 percent of particles passing through. Electrostatic repulsion between the negatively charged microplastics and soil particles was a key factor driving migration. The results suggest that soil composition plays a major role in determining how far microplastics can travel underground toward water sources.

2024 Environmental Pollution 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastics-Enhanced Contaminant Transport: Role of Irreversible Adsorption in Glassy Polymeric Domain

Polystyrene nanoplastics were shown to enhance the transport of co-occurring contaminants through soil by irreversibly adsorbing them onto the glassy polymer domain, facilitating their spread in the environment. The findings indicate that nanoplastics in soil can act as mobile carriers for contaminants that would otherwise remain bound to soil particles, potentially increasing leaching into groundwater.

2018 Environmental Science & Technology 262 citations
Article Tier 2

Preliminary investigation on effects of size, polymer type, and surface behaviour on the vertical mobility of microplastics in a porous media

Laboratory sand column experiments investigated how microplastic size, polymer type, and surface chemistry influence retention and transport behavior in subsurface environments. Results showed that smaller particles and those with surface modifications traveled farther, informing predictions of microplastic migration in soils and groundwater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the transport and deposition of microplastics in quartz sand

Researchers investigated how titanium dioxide nanoparticles affect the transport of polystyrene microplastics through saturated quartz sand, finding that nTiO2 presence altered microplastic deposition behavior in ways dependent on ionic strength and pH, suggesting nanoparticle-microplastic interactions can influence contaminant mobility in soils.

2019 Environmental Pollution 97 citations